Airtel cuts 3G data prices by 70 percent (India)
In a revolutionary move in mobile data price plans, leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel has reduced the price for 3G data plans by 70 percent. As per a company statement, volume based browsing rate on 3G is down from $0.0018 per 10kb to $0.0005 per 10kb. This will be applicable for 3G non-pack users with effect from May 17, 2012.
The company revealed that the new data plan for pre-paid customers would start at $0.18 for 30 minutes of usage over a one-day validity, $0.82 for 150 MB data valid for 7 days and will go till $27.3 for 10 GB data valid for 30 days. On the other hand, for post-paid customers, the plans start at $1.8 with a 300 MB data and 30 days validity, and goes till $27.3 for 10 GB data valid for 30 days.
Airtel also said that with Airtel 3G Smartbytes, post-paid mobile customers will have uninterrupted access to high speed browsing on their mobile devices even after exhausting their monthly data limits. The Smartbytes additional data usage packs will be available in a range of pre-determined price options that allow Airtel 3G customers to choose a plan that suits their needs.
Airtel in talks with Qualcomm to buy out Indian unit (India)
Leading telecom operator in India, Bharti Airtel, is said to be moving forward in its talks to buy out the Indian partners of Qualcomm in a fourth-generation (4G) broadband venture in the country, according to a report by Reuters.
Qualcomm purchased 4G radio airwaves in a 2010 Indian state auction for $1 billion, and had sold a total 26 percent stake to Indian companies Global Holding Corp and Tulip Telecom for about $58 million to comply with the sector’s foreign holding rules.
As per the report, both sides are still negotiating valuations, but Bharti will likely pay some premium over what Global Holding and Tulip paid in 2010. Further, it is expected that Bharti will make further investments in the company in future and new shares will be issued to them. That automatically dilutes the Qualcomm holding.
The deal will give Bharti access to four telecoms zones, including the lucrative Delhi and Mumbai cities, where it does not have its own 4G airwaves. Bharti, which won 4G airwaves in just four of India’s 22 telecoms zones, has said it would like to have a nationwide 4G broadband network. The company recently launched commercial 4G networks in Kolkata and Bangalore cities.
Qualcomm, which was embroiled in a dispute with the Indian telecoms ministry, was granted the 4G airwaves this month, nearly two years after it won them in the auction. The ministry cut the usage period of the airwaves by 18 months.
Qualcomm, which is pushing for the deployment of LTE (long-term evolution) broadband technology in India, has previously said it is looking at one or more operator partners in the India broadband venture.
Airtel partners with Axis Bank for mobile banking services (India)
India’s leading telecom operator, Bharti Airtel, has entered into a partnership with Axis Bank, enabling customers to carry out basic transactions such as transfer money as well as deposit and withdraw cash via Airtel Money.
As per reports, Bharti Airtel chief executive, India and South Asia, Sanjay Kapoor said that following the recent pan-India launch of Airtel money, they are today excited to collaborate with Axis Bank to further strengthen their m-commerce proposition for customers.
He added that the services will first be offered in Delhi and Mumbai on the sending side, and Bihar and East Uttar Pradesh on the receiving side. Thereafter, these services may be extended to other remittance corridors in the country.
Kapoor also said that according to estimates, nearly 43 per cent of the country’s population does not have bank accounts-the ‘Airtel money Super Account powered by Axis Bank’ acts as a no-frills bank account that comes with remittance capabilities.
Axis Bank MD and CEO Shikha Sharma said that their alliance with Airtel will help the bank to reach out to excluded segments of their population, both in rural and urban centres, with reasonably priced banking and financial services.
MTN, Glo, Etisalat and Airtel fined $10.8 million for poor network services (Nigeria)
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has fined telecom operators MTN, Etisalat, Airtel and Globacom, a total amount of $10.8 million, over poor quality of telecom services, according to a report by This Day.
As per the report, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had informed the Chief Executive Officers of the telecom operators via letters. The penalties imposed on the operators’ amount to $2.29 million for MTN and Etisalat, $1.71 million for Airtel and $1.14 million for Globacom.
The letter sent by the Commission said that all the operators are to pay the penalties on or before May 21, 2012 or be liable to payment of additional $15,900 per day for as long as the contravention persists. The penalties were imposed as the operators failed to meet with the minimum standard of quality of service including the key performance indicators (KPIs).
According to NCC, it monitored the performance of the operators on the different parameters, in line with the provisions of the regulation, and discovered that operators were in contravention of the provisions.
The report reveals that monitoring of the quality of service from the different operators in the month of March 2012, NCC statistics in some crucial parameters showed that Call Set-up Success Rate (CSSR) for all operators was 97.07 percent and the Commission’s target was greater than or equal to 98 percent.
Also during the period, Call Completion Rate (CCR) for all operators was 95.78 percent and the commission’s target was greater than or equal 96 percent. Drop Call Rate (DCR) for all operators was 1.33 percent and the commission’s target was less than or equal to 2 percent. The statistics showed that the four operators did not measure up to NCC’s target in certain parameters.
SingTel Group’s mobile customer base reaches 445 million (Singapore)
Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) announced that the Group posted another quarter of strong growth in customer acquisitions. As at 31 March 2012, the Group had a total mobile customer base of 445 million, an increase of 11 per cent or 42.9 million from a year ago.
Airtel’s total mobile customer base reached 241 million as at 31 March 2012, an increase of 29.2 million or 14 per cent from a year ago. In India, Airtel’s mobile customer base grew by 19.1 million or 12 per cent to 181 million. During the quarter, Airtel introduced ‘Airtel Money’, India’s first telco-led mobile wallet service on a nationwide basis.
In Africa, Airtel had a total mobile customer base of 53.1 million, an increase of 8.9 million or 20 per cent. In the quarter, Airtel expanded the rollout of its 3G services to five more countries in Africa: Ghana, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania.
Telkomsel’s total mobile customer base stood at 110 million, up 10.5 million or 11 per cent. Its market share was at approximately 43.3 per cent as at 31 March 2012, up 0.4 percentage point from a quarter ago.
Optus continued its postpaid customer growth momentum with net additions of 82,000 this quarter which included a one-off reduction of 33,000 to a wholesale service provider’s customer base. Excluding this adjustment, postpaid customer net additions this quarter were 115,000.
Prepaid customers were stable at 4.29 million. Net additions for the full year were 421,000, bringing Optus’ total mobile customer base to 9.49 million, up 5 per cent from a year ago. Postpaid customers comprised 55 per cent of the total base, up 2 percentage points from a year ago.
The number of 3G customers increased to 6.63 million, a 6 per cent increase from a quarter ago. This included a base of 1.58 million wireless broadband customers, an increase of 23 per cent from a year ago.
In Singapore, SingTel further grew its market leadership to 45.9 per cent. Its total mobile customer base grew by 273,000 customers or 8.3 per cent from a year ago to 3.58 million as at 31 March 2012.
Full year net additions in the postpaid segment were 171,000 customers, lifting total postpaid customer base by 9.6 per cent to 1.95 million. The growth was driven by increasing demand for smartphones and data SIMs from integrated mobile broadband bundles.
In the prepaid segment, SingTel’s customer base grew by 102,000 customers or 6.7 per cent to 1.63 million, led by strong demand for 3G offerings such as 3G SIM, data and Blackberry value added services. SingTel continues to drive data usage among prepaid customers, empowering them with faster Internet access at lower costs with the introduction of ‘Opera Mini Browser’.
Airtel brings the 4G revolution to Bengaluru (India)
Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecom services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, today launched its 4G services in India’s IT hub – Bengaluru. Following the recent inaugural launch of Airtel 4G services in Kolkata, customers in Bengaluru have now become the second in India to have access to cutting-edge 4G LTE technology that delivers the most advanced wireless broadband experience available across the globe. As a first for the telecom industry worldwide, Airtel has also introduced ‘Smartbytes’ for 4G – thus allowing customers to buy these add on packs and continue enjoying the 4G experience even after exhausting their monthly data limits.
At the launch, Sanjay Kapoor, CEO – India & South Asia, Bharti Airtel said that as seen the world over, the total data usage is exploding and is doubling each year to grow to nearly 3.6 hexabytes by 2014. With the launch of 4G, India will move from being a follower in technology to matching the world in this domain. Leading from the front, Airtel is now the only operator that gives citizens of the Information Technology capital of Bengaluru, access to entire spectrum of broadband services including 2G, 3G and now 4G – thereby giving the customers never seen before data experience. Besides offering rich content, Airtel 4G will allow superfast access to High Definition (HD) video streaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos and much more.
As part of an exciting introductory offer by Airtel, customers subscribing to 4G services will now be given a cashback for the CPE / dongle – thus bringing device cost to customers zero and paving way for mass adoption of 4G services. Airtel 4G is now also available in an all new 30GB pack priced at $57.
Customers on Airtel 4G can already choose from a catalogue of over 35 high quality Bollywood movie titles and leverage the power of 4G to enjoy an unmatched video streaming experience. While 10 movie titles will be available free of cost for customers during the first month, movie buffs can pay a monthly subscription of INR 149 and watch unlimited movies. Airtel will be further adding to this list of movies in the catalogue in weeks to come.
In 2010, Airtel had successfully bid for BWA license spectrum in Kolkata, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai) circles. The company has launched its 4G LTE services in Kolkata and Bengaluru and is currently working towards rolling out state-of-the-art networks in remaining licence circles.
Airtel to increase Africa revenues in 2013 (Africa, India)
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel announced its Q4 results yesterday, revealing a net decline in its profit for the ninth consecutive quarter. According to the company, increased expenses such as of 3G licence fee amortisation, 3G interest costs, forex losses and tax provisions, were the prime cause for the decline, but said that it will be looking at increasing revenues from its African operations next year.
Bharti Airtel CEO (International) and Joint Managing Director Manoj Kohli, said that the restructuring for Africa is over and thus FY 13 will be a normal year. Therefore, the revenue goal of USD 5 billion definitely remains their target.
He added that all changes they wanted to bring in the network, IT, organisation design are successfully completed and he believes this will be a year of stability, operational consolidation and therefore they are confidant of leading a growth in these markets. He also said that the company aims at achieving 40 per cent EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) from its African operations.
Kohli claimed that cost efficiencies gained from the new business model in Africa has been completed and now they will see efficiencies moving in steadily.
Airtel selects Huawei for 4G network contract in Karnataka (India)
Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel has awarded Huawei a contract to plan, design, supply and deploy LTE network to offer fourth-generation (4G) mobile broadband services in Karnataka. According to reports, Huawei will deliver LTE network infrastructure and devices which offers high-speed internet access on the go.
Sanjay Kapoor, chief executive officer for India & South Asia, Bharti Airtel, said that with the pioneering launch of 4G LTE, Airtel has paved the way for data revolution in the country by being at the forefront of India’s telecom revolution once again. Further, mobile data traffic in the country will increase nearly 100-fold by 2015 and consumers will stream nearly 600 hours of video content.
This is the third region where Airtel has launched 4G services in India, following Kolkata and Maharashtra. Airtel is also the first operator to offer 4G services in India.
